The issue of same-sex marriage has come to a head in 2004 with the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling and the Mayor of San Francisco's flaunting of the law to fight against the ban on gay marriage. President George Bush has also weighed in on the issue calling for a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Obviously, this topic is dominating the news and garnering a lot of attention. Controversial issues such as this often make it into the classroom and it would be wise to be prepared as an educator with how you will deal with the inevitable questions. This is especially true if you are teaching social studies.
The question, however, is how active should a teacher be in bringing up this topic for debate in their classroom. This is a highly charged topic with people feeling strongly both for and against legalization of gay marriage. It is extremely difficult to teach a topic such as this without bringing in your own personal feelings about the issue. Some organizations have created lesson plans to help teach this as a topic in the classroom. Should we as educators go there? This is a slippery slope that we must be careful to navigate. Why? Because gay marriage is intertwined in many people's minds with religion.
Teachers are extremely familiar with the virtual ban on bringing up religious topics in the classroom. Does the fight for or against gay marriage center on religion? In your classroom, it would be very difficult to talk about this topic without religion being brought in. Again, this can be treacherous ground for the teacher, especially in some sections of the country.
A perfect example of being careful where you tread would come in using the lesson plan provided by GLSEN, the Gay,Lesbian and Straight Education Network. This lesson plan is weighted in favor of gay marriage as evidenced by numerous 'case studies' of gay couples, stories of gay marriages, etc. The question is, what is your role as a teacher? If you have a debate on this topic, should it be equally weighed? If you have students read sympathetic stories favoring one side or the other, does this mean that you have entered the debate and are attempting to influence your students?
If you decide that it is important to teach about gay marriage and want to do so in a more formal atmosphere then allowing students to bring up the topic on their own, you should discuss this with your administration. You should be able to answer the questions posed within this article. If a parent were to face you and ask 'What right do you have to expose my child to these views?' you should have a good, solid answer and be backed by your administration. Otherwise, you could find yourself in the middle of a moral storm.
This is a hot-button issue similar to abortion that if taught in your classroom could lead to a lively discussion but the ramifications could be larger than you expect or intend.
